Pillow

ABSTRACT

A pillow comprises a case with an opening therein having a first fastening device for opening and closing it. The pillow contains a first main stuffing and a second auxiliary stuffing which is inserted through the opening. There is a second fastening means that is provided for securing the auxiliary stuffing to the case in the region of the opening. The case comprises three interconnected sections extending side by side along the length of the pillow with the principal opening in the center of the three sections and the main stuffing of the center sections being thinner than the main stuffing of the other two sections. The center section is foldable upon itself along a line extending longitudinally of the pillow and a third fastening device is advantageously operable to secure the center section in the folded state.

United States Patent 1 Degen Nov. 26, 1974 PILLOW Prima ExaminerCasmir A. Nunber 75 1 tor. FellxD B ht ,E 1 d W g nven t egen mg on ng an Attorney, Agent, or Firm-McGlew and Tuttle [73] Assignee: Marp'al Aktiengesellschaft, Chur,

Switzerland [5 7] ABSTRACT [22] Filed: Apr. 27, 1973 A pillow comprises a case with an opening therein having a first fastening device for opening and closing [21] 355001 it. The pillow contains a first main stuffing and a second auxiliary stuffing which is inserted through the [30] Foreign Application Priority Data opening. There is a second fastening means that is Apr. 27 1972 Switzerland 6291/72 Provided for securing the auxiliary Stuffing to the Case v in the region of the opening. The case comprises three 52 US. Cl 5/341, 5/344, 5/352 interconnected Sections extending Side by Side along 51] Int. cl; A47c 27/22, A470 7/02 the length of the Pillow with the Principal Opening in [58] Field of Search U 5/337 339 341 344, 5 the center of the three sections and the main stuffing 3 of the center sections being thinner than the main stuffing of the other two sections. The center section [56] References Cited is foldable upon itself along a line extending longitudinally of the pillow and a third fastening device is ad 2 577 595 S PATENTS 5/341 vantageously operable to secure the center section in 0 ms 1 2,953,793 9/1960 Rossi the f0 ded State 3,489,194 ll/1970 Hoover 5/344 2 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PILLOW The present invention relates to a pillow with a case, which contains stuffing, intended to support the head, and which is provided with an opening which can be easily closed.

It is known that an increasing percentage of people have difficulties with conventional pillows. The onepiece pillows, filled with feathers or. any other stuffing material, which are still prevalent, are deformed too easily under the pressure of the head laying thereon when the filling is loose, and on the other hand, when the filling is tight cause unsatisfactory kinking in the region of the neck.

Foam pillows are known which have a depression to take the head in the central region and further a bead to support the neck. These pillows, however, offer, on the one hand, not nearly the same sleeping comfort as a downfilled textile pillow, and on the other hand the adjustment of the pillow height and pillow hardness re- .quired by many people is not possible.

A pillow which obviates the above-mentioned disadvantages is proposed by the present invention. This pillow is characterized in accordance with theinvention in that a second'stuffing is so secured in theregion of the said opening that it can be inserted or removed -case by means of a slide fastener and the said opening can also be closed by means of a slide fastener.

In accordance with a special form of embodiment the first stuffing is rigidly sewn into the case, whereas the second stuffing is so divided by parallel quilting seams,

running with mutual spacing, that it can be rolled up to form a neck roll and be inserted in the case.

Appropriately the said case has practically a rectangular cross-section and is divided into three connected sections transversely to the longitudinal axis of the rectangular shape, the said opening, with the second stuffing arranged in the edge region, extending only over the width of the central section and the firmly sewed-in matter of FIGS. 4, 6 and 8 are the corresponding schematicsections;

The simplified drawing according to FIG. 1 shows a pillow which is given the reference numeral 1 in its entirety. The pillow is divided by corresponding cuts 2a and 2b into a centre section 3 and twoouter sections '4 and 5. As FIG. 2 shows particularly well, the pillow has a continuous case 6, which encloses all three sections 3, 4 and 5 of the pillow. In the two outside sections 4 and 5 are found stuffing which can be comprise for example a known foam material. This stuffing is given the reference numeral 5a for example in the sectional view according to FIG. 8, can be either sewn in firmly or merely inserted into the pocket-shaped sections 4 and 5.

Y stuffing of the centre section being thinner than that of The centre section 3 has a firmly sewn-in stuffing 7 in the case of the form of embodiment described, the thickness of which stuffing in the released state corresponds approximately to half the thickness of the side stuffings.

The case-6 is provided with an opening in the region of the centre section 3. This opening extends approximately over the width b of the centre section 3 and can be closed by means of a slide fastener 7. A second slide fastener 8 (FIG. 3), which serves for fastening a second stuffing, given the reference numeral 9 in its entirety, in the opening region of the case 6, is also located in the region of this opening. The stuffing 9 is thus connected to the case 6 such that it can be easily removed and can be inserted or withdrawn from the case at will. FIG. 2 shows the stufiing 9 in the inserted state, FIG. 4 in the removed state. The case 6 can be closed by means of the slide fastener 7 in accordance with FIGS. 1 and 2 after inserting the stuffing 9. In this position of the stuffing 9 the three sections of the pillow are thus approximately of the same height and however approximately the same hardness. Apart from the division into three this shape of the pillow would correspond substantially with respect to its effect, to one of the known pillows. I v

After removing the stuffing 9 the thickness of the centre section, however, is reduced by approximately half, whereas the original thickness of the outer sections remains the same. This shape of the described pillow complies with the requirements of the numerous people, to place the head alternatively somewhat higher or somewhat lower, according to whether one lies on the back or on the side. In this case the stuffing 9 can of course also be removed completely by undoing the slide fastener 8.

A further use of the pillow described is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. In this case the stuffing 9 which is divided by two quilting seams l0 and 11 into three sections is rolled into itself and inserted in the case, so that it forms a small neck roll 12 (FIG. 6), as is frequently necessary to achieve a comfortable neck and head position, and is easily raised with respect to the side seceven firmer neck roll is desired. In order to achieve this I the centre pillow section 3 is turned down approximately about the longitudinal axis of the pillow and is locked in this position. As locking means there can be used, for example, a slide fastener 13, one half 13a of which is sewn in the region b of the case opening and the other half 13b of which is sewn on the free end of the centre section 3. The user of the pillow thus has a relatively firm neck roll 14 (-FIG. 8) but can, on requirement, convert it into the normal pillow height.

The pillow described thus offers numerous uses, in which it may comply to even more exacting requirements. In addition, the stuffing 9 can even be easily removed completely and can be used separately in the rolled-up state.

The two side sections 4 and 5 are therefore already valued by people sensitive to cold because they can be used as neck and shoulder warmers in the simplest manner. Anyone seeking peace in a noisy environment can so arrange or deform the two side sections 4 and r 5 that they close his ears. Also the side sections can form an effective hairdo protection if required.

The practically rectangular, cross-sectional shape of the pillow is preferred, but the pillow can also easily have a different shape, for example the oval. The stuffing filling can comprise foam material, down or any other known material. Also different fastening means can be used as required, for example snap fasteners.

The stuffing given the reference numeral 5a in FIG. 8 and sewn to the case 6 can also be so constructed, for example, that it extends over the three sections 3, 4 and 5. This stuffing could also be easily provided in the form of a removable pillow filling.

I claim:

1. A pillow comprising a case having an opening therein, first fastening means operable to open and close said opening, a first main stuffing disposed in said case, a second auxiliary stuffing insertable into said case through said opening, and second fastening means operable to secure said auxiliary stuffing to said case in the region of said opening, said case comprising three interconnected sections extending side-by-side along the length of the pillow, said opening being arranged in the center one of said three sections and the main stuffing of said center section being thinner than the main stuffing of the two outer sections, said center section being foldable upon itself along a line extending longitudinally of the pillow and said pillow includes third fastening means operable to secure said center section in folded state.

2. A pillow as claimed in claim 1 wherein said third fastening means is a slide fastener having one half thereof extending along one edge of said centre section and the other half arranged in the region of said openmg. 

1. A pillow comprising a case having an opening therein, first fastening means operable to open and close said opening, a first main stuffing disposed in said case, a second auxiliary stuffing insertable into said case through said opening, and second fastening means operable to secure said auxiliary stuffing to said case in the region of said opening, said case comprising three interconnected sections extending side-by-side along the length of the pillow, said opening being arranged in the center one of said three sections and the main stuffing of said center section being thinner than the main stuffing of the two outer sections, said center section being foldable upon itself along a line extending longitudinally of the pillow and said pillow includes third fastening means operable to secure said center section in folded state.
 2. A pillow as claimed in claim 1 wherein said third fastening means is a slide fastener having one half thereof extending along one edge of said centre section and the other half arranged in the region of said opening. 